Carol Reed reached the peak of his form with this classic noir, an elegy for American innocence and European elegance. Joseph Cotten stars as unemployed pulp-novelist Holly Martins. When he arrives in post-WWII Vienna on the promise of a job from his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), he finds that Lime has recently died in a dubious car accident. Against the advice of British sector authority Major Calloway, who accuses Lime of criminal behavior, the indignant Martins decides to stay to investigate his friend's death. "The Third Man" is a masterpiece of melancholia featuring extraordinary writing, acting, and directing, as well as a classic zither score by Anton Karas. Welles is memorable as the seductive villain, but the true star may be the camera work of Robert Krasker, which transforms Vienna into an expressionist nightmare. Elvis Mitchell writes, "Quite simply one of the finest films ever made!" (NYT).

FILM LINKS

* Film info. at filmsite.org
* Roger Ebert's GREAT MOVIES review
* Read reviews on rottentomatoes.com
* The Making of THE THIRD MAN